The National Angel Capital Organization and Invest Atlantic are teaming up this year to present three days of programing in Halifax with sessions on raising various forms of capital.

NACO, the national body for angel investing in Canada, will host NACO Atlantic 2019 on Sept. 16 to 17, and that will bridge into Invest Atlantic’s new Funding Founders conference, which will run from Sept 17 to 18. Both events will be held at the Casino Nova Scotia and the Marriott Harbourfront. You can get your tickets for Funding Founders here. 

The unifying theme will be the raising of capital by entrepreneurs, though the events’ emphasis will differ. While NACO promotes direct investment by wealthy individuals, Funding Founders will focus on how entrepreneurs can raise non-dilutive capital – that is, grants or loans that do not dilute the equity position of founders or investors.

Bob Williamson, whose company Jameson Group launched Invest Atlantic 10 years ago, said the two events complement one another because angel investors benefit when the companies they invest in receive non-dilutive capital.

“If an angel finds that the company is actively going after non-dilutive funding, it allows the angel to come in at an earlier stage,” said Williamson in an interview. “It means the angels say, ‘We’re not the first ones in here and we like it.’”

He added that a company’s ability to raise non-dilutive capital can mean that the CEO is not on the road constantly trying to raise more equity funding. Even if the company raises debt, the interest charges can cost the company less in time and money than what it costs to fly off and meet potential investors, he said.

Funding Founders represents a bit of a homecoming for Invest Atlantic. The first six annual conferences were held in Halifax, then Williamson took it to Fredericton in 2016, St. John’s in 2017 and Charlottetown last year.

On bringing it back to Halifax, he was looking for a new theme. During discussions with Jeff Mullen at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, they realized that startup conferences always focus on equity fund-raising. No one ever focuses on non-dilutive.

The landscape for non-dilutive funding is changing, especially for the more successful later-stage companies, said Williamson. Business Development Bank of Canada is becoming more active in the space, and even private banks are more interested in lending to high-growth innovation companies.

NACO, meanwhile, has been working for the past few years to raise awareness among Atlantic Canadians of the potential and practices of angel investing.  After First Angel Network closed its doors this spring, there have been discussions about new angel groups opening in the region.

In an interview with Entrevestor in March, NACO’s then-CEO Yuri Navarro (who has since taken another job and been replaced by Claudio Rojas) said the organization wants local players to determine who operates these groups, but NACO will support them when they do emerge.

“NACO Atlantic 2019 will provide investors with the opportunity to connect with other passionate investors from across the Atlantic region and country, to leverage expertise, and exchange deep industry insights,” said NACO in an email. “Further, it is an opportunity for investors in the Atlantic region to help shape the future of the investment ecosystem in Atlantic Canada as we embark on the next stages of economic growth.”